Chinese River Valleys

Fertile soil called loess – blown by the winds from deserts Geography Natural barriers protect from East Himalayas and Taklamakan Desert Isolation = self-sufficient “Middle Kingdom” Huang He (Yellow River) and Yangtze River Fertile soil called loess – blown by the winds from deserts 10% of land is arable Fertile land support large population

The Yellow and Yangtze Rivers Today Flooding, Fishing, and Toxic runoff

…?

The control of water is becoming a point of conflict between neighboring countries

Early Chinese History Shang Zhou

The Shang Dynasty – 1700-1027 BCE First rulers to leave written records Oracle bones Used bronze tools and weapons Overthrown by the Zhou (1045-256 BCE) who created the Mandate of Heaven

Oracle Bone from the Shanghai Museum

Chinese Culture Family Religious Beliefs People outside China = barbarians Ethnocentrism Loyalty to the family/Filial Piety Women inferior Arranged marriages 13-16 Mulan - Honor Family ancestors influenced life (+/-) Spirits were not gods Paid respect to spirits Mulan - Family Spirits

Writing System No connection between China’s spoken and written language AKA – One can read Chinese without being able to speak a word of it People all over China could read it even if the spoken language was very different Written language helped unify a large, diverse land 1,500 characters to be barely literate 10,000 to be a scholar

1) Traditional 2) Simplified 3) Pinyin 4)English

These have been translated to pinyin

Easy to figure out Still easy to figure out

Look what I found as a result?

And…I’m lost

Qin and Han Dynasties Qin Warring States Period 221-210 BC Qin Shi Huangdi defeats warlords and unites China Creates centralized government and rule Rule through harsh laws and punishments - Legalism

Qin and Han Dynasties 206 BC – 220 AD Overthrow Qin dynasty Han Territory Han 206 BC – 220 AD Overthrow Qin dynasty Rule based on Qin idea of strong government with Confucian idea of public service and virtue

The Growth of Early Chinese Dynasties Qin Territory Han Territory